WHOOOOOSH—!
The wind howled violently against our ears.
Below the cliff stretched an abyss of endless darkness.
An ordinary person would have been screaming in terror.
But the reactions of our party couldn't have been more different.
"HAHAHA! YES! FASTER!"
Kairik threw his head back and laughed like a child riding an amusement park attraction.
"Lady Violetta! Stay close to me!"
Even while falling, Damian reached out and wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me against his chest.
He was fully prepared to absorb the impact of the landing with his own body.
As for me?
How much are all those worth...?
My attention was occupied by the thousands of crimson eyes glittering in the darkness below.
The monsters crawling across the ground.
Each one had a high-grade mana stone embedded in its heart.
In other words...
Those weren't monsters.
They were walking treasure chests.
BOOM!
With a deafening crash, we landed.
Thanks to Damian releasing a burst of holy power to cushion our descent, the landing wasn't exactly graceful—
but at least none of our bones broke.
Grrrrrr...
SKREEEE!
The instant our feet touched the ground, a foul stench flooded the air.
Twisted, grotesque monsters emerged from the darkness and surrounded us.
They packed together like swarming ants.
When they opened their jaws, yellow saliva dripped onto the snow.
Damian drew his sword and stepped protectively in front of me.
"Please stay back. There are too many."
But I casually slipped out from behind him.
Then I planted Elegant Conversation No. 2—my silver sledgehammer—firmly into the ground.
"Stay back?"
I stroked the hammer's handle lovingly.
"I just entered a gold mine."
Smiling brightly at the monsters, I waved.
"Come on, kids. Hand over your shiny rocks."
I raised the hammer.
"I'll make it painless."
The monsters charged as one.
"They're coming!"
Kairik casually swung his massive greatsword with one hand.
SHING!
The five monsters leading the charge were instantly cut in half.
Before blood could even spray, their bodies dissolved into black smoke.
"As expected from His Grace."
I didn't even have time to admire the display.
A monster lunged toward me.
WHAM!
My hammer connected with its skull.
The impact traveled all the way up my arms.
The creature let out a shriek before exploding into dust.
A tiny red crystal rolled onto the ground.
A mana stone.
There it is!
My eyes lit up.
"Sir Knight! Cover me!"
I pointed dramatically.
"I'm going in for collection duty!"
Then I sprinted directly into the middle of the enemy horde.
"Violetta! That's dangerous!"
Damian nearly had a heart attack as he chased after me.
But today my movements felt lighter than ever.
The monsters looked like they were moving in slow motion.
Because I could hear every single ghost clinging to their shoulders.
"Attack from the right!"
"Bite her ankle!"
"Grab her arm!"
The spirits shrieked instructions at the top of their lungs.
"You're all so noisy."
I twisted aside from a snapping jaw.
Then drove my hammer straight into the creature's skull.
CRACK!
"Next!"
Every swing of my hammer sent mana stones raining across the battlefield.
It was like...
A slot machine hitting the jackpot over and over again.
Yes.
This was it.
This was the joy of living.
Laughing like a madwoman, I rampaged through the battlefield.
Lee Sujin—the underpaid office worker who used to survive on a pitiful salary while tiptoeing around her boss—was gone.
Only Violetta remained now.
The crazy saintess of the North.
A woman determined to become rich with nothing but a giant hammer.
Unfortunately, the fun didn't last forever.
After swinging the hammer nonstop, my arms began to ache.
Worse still, the silver coating on the weapon was gradually losing its glow.
The demonic energy saturating the Rift was rapidly consuming the holy power stored inside it.
Great. The battery's running out.
I glanced around.
Damian was busy cutting down the monsters flooding toward my back.
Meanwhile, Kairik was somewhere in the distance, single-handedly committing what could only be described as a massacre.
"Sir Knight!"
I shouted.
Damian turned immediately.
"Come here! Recharge time!"
"Right now?!"
His eyes widened in disbelief.
Monsters were pouring in from every direction.
And I was asking for a recharge?
But this was serious.
Without holy power, my hammer was just an extremely heavy metal club.
"Hurry! My weapon's dying!"
I kicked away a charging monster and ran straight toward him.
Then I grabbed the front of his armor and yanked him closer.
"Excuse me for a second."
This time I didn't aim for his lips.
Instead, I slammed my forehead against the side of his neck.
Thunk.
"...!"
Damian froze completely.
Through my forehead, I felt the warmth of his skin.
The powerful pulse of his heartbeat.
At the same time, pure, refreshing holy energy surged into me like water filling an empty vessel.
"Ahhh..."
I breathed deeply.
"That's better."
The clean scent of pine forests and sunlight coming from Damian washed away the smell of blood and decay.
Honestly, I could have stayed like that for another five minutes.
Unfortunately—
"What exactly do you think you're doing?"
A low growl interrupted us.
Turning around, I found Kairik glaring in our direction.
His bloodstained sword rested on his shoulder.
His crimson eyes were practically on fire.
"Flirting on a battlefield?"
His voice dripped with irritation.
"You've gotten comfortable."
"Flirting?"
I scoffed.
"This is strategic resupply."
Stepping away from Damian, I held up my hammer.
It was glowing blue once more.
"Instead of wasting time being jealous, maybe kill a few more monsters, Partner."
I grinned.
"Profit distribution is based on performance."
Kairik barked out a laugh.
"Jealous? Me?"
He snorted.
"Ridiculous."
Yet even as he said that, he swung his sword with enough force to slice a nearby boulder clean in half.
Apparently he was in a very bad mood.
"Focus."
Damian cleared his throat and subtly covered his reddened neck.
"The enemy is regrouping."
He was right.
No matter how many monsters we killed, more kept pouring out from deeper within the Rift.
This was like trying to fill a bucket with a hole in the bottom.
We need to solve the source.
I rested the hammer on my shoulder and opened my spiritual sight fully.
Following the flow of demonic energy, I searched for its origin.
Then—
"I see it."
Deep inside the Rift hung something enormous.
A giant cocoon.
Thousands of monsters clustered around it protectively.
"That's the target."
I pointed my hammer.
"The queen ant."
Then corrected myself.
"Or whatever passes for a boss around here."
"Break that thing and the game's over."
Damian frowned.
"How are we supposed to get there?"
The path was completely blocked.
The monsters formed a living wall.
A frontal assault looked impossible.
Then inspiration struck.
A brilliant idea.
"If there's no path..."
I smiled.
"We'll make one."
I turned toward Kairik.
"Your Grace."
"What?"
"Feel like showing off?"
Kairik blinked.
"What are you talking about?"
I gestured toward the endless monster horde.
"I need you to attract all their attention."
"...What?"
"Basically, I need a really sturdy shield."
Kairik stared at me.
Then laughed incredulously.
"A shield?"
His eyebrow twitched.
"Did you just ask the Grand Duke of the North to become bait?"
"Well..."
I quickly added:
"If we succeed, I'll grant you one wish."
Kairik's eyes flashed.
"A wish?"
His voice dropped.
"Any wish?"
"Anything you want."
A dangerous smile appeared on his face.
"...You said anything."
His gaze lingered briefly on my lips.
Dangerous.
Very dangerous.
But this wasn't the time to be picky.
"Deal."
Kairik raised his greatsword high overhead.
A crimson aura exploded from his body.
"Out of my way, vermin!"
BOOOOOOM!
The ground shattered beneath his feet.
Kairik launched himself directly into the center of the enemy army.
Every swing of his sword sent dozens of monsters flying into the air.
The sheer destruction was enough to draw every eye on the battlefield.
"Now! Sir Knight!"
I grabbed Damian's hand.
"Launch me!"
"Again?!"
He looked horrified.
But one glance at my face told him I was serious.
"I'm going to land on top of that cocoon and smash it."
I pointed.
"Focus your holy power into my feet and give me a boost."
Damian sighed deeply.
"Honestly..."
Even so, he wrapped an arm firmly around my waist.
Brilliant holy light erupted from his hands.
"If you get hurt..."
His voice darkened.
"I won't forgive you."
I flashed a grin.
"Don't worry."
I raised my hammer.
"I refuse to die before I get rich."
Using Damian's palms as a launching platform, I kicked off with all my strength.
"Here I go!"
FWOOOOOSH!
Propelled by Damian's holy power, I shot into the sky like a rocket.
Far below, thousands of monsters swarmed like black insects.
In the middle of them, Kairik was carving through the horde like a berserk god of war.
And ahead—
My target.
The giant cocoon.
Black veins writhed across its surface.
A sickening heartbeat echoed from within.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
Ugh. That's disgusting.
Let's get rid of it already.
Whatever was inside.
Whatever nightmare was waiting to emerge.
It was about to experience the full power of my hammer.
I raised the weapon above my head.
And grinned.
"Hold still and let me smash your face in!"
